A new POW/MIA flag will be dedicated Feb. 8 in Slidell. Chris Granger / Staff archive

The dedication will begin at 1:30 p.m. The general public is invited to attend the event. The clinic is located at 60491 Doss Drive, just off Powell Road and U.S. 11.

“We have held a lot of flag raisings over the years since we came into being in 1992,” said LFWA Member Ron Martin. “Several of our members noticed that the clinic did not have a flag and we wanted to make it happen.”

According to United States Public Law 105-85, POW/MIA flags are to be flown on certain days at government buildings, including postal service offices and VA clinics.

“We talked with Mark Bologna about the clinic not flying the POW/MIA flag when we met at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Slidell in November,” said Martin. Bologna is the Regional Director for Veterans Benefits Administration. “He got in contact with the right people and now we are working with them to get ready for Feb. 8.”

This is not about just the missing and captured during the Vietnam War, he said. It is about honoring the sacrifice of all prisoners of war and the missing in action from the international community and from all previous conflicts. The law itself reads that displaying the flag serves as a symbol of the nation’s commitment to achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans taken prisoner or missing in times of war.

“This country has lost a lot of good people during many different wars,” said Martin. “We need to remember them.”

There will be a small ceremony prior to the flag being raised for the first time. The POW/MIA flag is being donated by the LFWA.

“We have provided flags that have flown over both the South and North Poles with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard, military cemeteries in Europe and one went aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission 51,” said Martin.

The Slidell VA clinic flag will be dedicated to two fellow veterans who recently passed away, James “Rigger” Rushing of the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club and Donny “Booger” Hall of the Galloping Gooses Motorcycling Club. Martin says many members are only known to others by the “road” names. Martin’s is “Goodguy”.

For more information concerning the Feb. 8 flag ceremony or the Louisiana Fallen Warriors Association, contact Ron Martin at 985.882.6247 or la.fallenwarriors@gmail.com.